January Favorites: Our Current Obsessions
The first month of 2021 is nearly over, and we are already elbows-deep in new projects. Between supporting our clients in person and virtually, eagerly anticipating the next birth we get to attend as a team, and making Big Plans for the year, we’re feeling refreshed and ready to tackle whatever comes next. From good books to our current favorite tunes to the ways we’re spending our outside-of-work time, check out our roundup of everything that made our month brighter.
Everyone on the Gather team is such a sucker for pets at births, so we were delighted by these two doggy doulas who were in attendance at our latest birth.
Reading:
This HuffPost article we were featured in (!!).
Both Brooke and Meredith happened to read The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (so good!) this month, and Emily recently finished Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi, which she absolutely adored.
Mere is making her way through The Dutch House by Ann Patchett and already knows she’s going to be sad when it’s over. Speaking of, did you see this essay by Patchett? It is a beautiful story, and we think you might like it too.
Gina’s recent reads include Baby Knows Best by Deborah Solomon and The Unsettlers by Mark Sundeen.
One of the books Emily read this month, Dancing at the Pity Party, just won the Sydney Taylor Book Award.
Listening:
Gina has been prepping for her upcoming home birth by setting aside all the records she wants to hear during her labor and delivery. Yes, she’s absolutely That Person, and each of us, as members of her birth team, are ready to lovingly keep the tunes flowing as we support her. She’s also been enjoying the smooth sounds of Lo Village and Colors by Black Pumas.
Meredith has been making a concerted effort to be more proactive about her news intake and has been listening to a few blocks of NPR each day.
Brooke likes to watch Grow, Cook, Eat while she makes dinner and dreams about this year’s garden.
Watching:
This birth film, which was beautifully captured and edited by Gather Birth co-founder Brooke.
Brooke and her husband Joe are making their way through the Star Wars movies… again!
BRIDGERTON. (Related: this now-classic Onion post.)
Doing:
In one way or another, each of us has been getting our ducks in a row at home. Emily is settling into her new house, Gina is keeping things tidy as she prepares to welcome a new baby into her life, Mere is getting ready to slap a few new coats of paint on the walls and has been working on Gather’s website, and Brooke recently completed Raeanne Madison’s Postpartum Healing Lodge course and is continuing her studies with Bebo Mia’s Fertility Support Specialist training.
What about you? What were your January bright spots?
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